Hi class!

My name is Audrey, nice to meet you! I am a sophomore here at the UO, and one thing I value are my jobs. They are both very important and enriching for me, as I get to work with kids and new college students. As a City of Eugene Parks and Rec employee, I have the opportunity to spend time with middle school students at an after school program called “BEST”. As a First Year Interest Group Assistant, I get to be a part of freshmen’s first term in their new college! Both jobs are exciting in different ways. Below is a picture of me and all the other FAs at the end of an eight hour training we had a couple weeks ago. The picture is small, but I’m in the top row on the left!

The reason why I am interested in Eastern Asian languages and societies is because I know nothing about it! Growing up in the North American public school system, I was taught all about American and European history and culture. I never got the chance to learn about anywhere in Asia, let alone Eastern Asia. I am very excited to be in this class because it’s a chance to learn something I never have before, and from what I’ve already learned from our three classes, I am thrilled for the rest of the term!

So far, I like the structure of the course, however I struggle a little bit with the differences between Chinese, Japanese, and Korean because I have never studied these languages before. Looking at the differences between them has been a little confusing to me because of my lack of experience. I like the way Professor Idemaru teaches because she checks for understanding with the iClickers. This works with my own learning approach because I like to quiz myself and check for my own understanding. So far this class has not really changed how I study, but I do appreciate the reading quizzes because they encourage me to keep up with the reading assignments.